The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, has revealed that he started out as an orphan selling firewood on the streets of Jada in present day Adamawa State.
The former vice president disclosed this during the launch of his presidential campaign on Monday.
Atiku narrated, “I started out as an orphan selling firewood on the streets of Jada in Adamawa, but God, through the Nigerian state, invested in me and here I am today.
“If Nigeria worked for me, I owe it as my duty to make sure that Nigeria also works for you,” he said.
The ex-vice president noted in his declaration that it was time to get Nigeria Working again, saying, “I appeal to you to join me on this journey towards a better life for all Nigerians.”
Continuing, Atiku said, “Today we will begin the process of sharing our policies that form my plan to create jobs, restructure the polity, and Get Nigeria Working Again.
“If elected President, I will be pro-active in attracting investments and supporting the 50 million small and medium scale enterprises across Nigeria for the purpose of doubling the size of our Gross Domestic Product to US$900 billion by 2025.
“These investments will create a minimum of 2.5 million jobs annually and lift at least 50 million people from poverty in the first 2 years.
“My team and I will also help create jobs by innovating flagship programmes such as the National Open Apprenticeship Programme through which we shall enhance the capacity of Master-Craftsmen and women to train 1,000,000 new apprentices every year.
“Our National Innovation Fund and SME Venture Capital Fund initiatives will provide stable and sustainable long-term support to aspiring entrepreneurs.
“My plan to restructure Nigeria will lead to a vast increase in the Internally Generated Revenue both for the Federal Government and the states via the matching grants that we will provide to state governments that increase their own revenue.
“Let me be clear no state will receive less funding than they get today – in fact all will receive more and the harder a state works the more they will get.
“And I am not just presenting these policies to you, I want you to own them. Take a look at them.
“You can view them at Atiku.org and on the pamphlets that we are making available to the public, you will have an opportunity to provide your feedback.”
